


My Iron Lung (Radiohead, 1995)

by MarmeLady_Orange



Series: MAGNET HEARTS [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, But it’s not heartwrenching either, Childhood Friends, Fluffy Moments, Friendship, High School, M/M, Making Out, Mild Sexual Content, Partying, Slow Build, Still no happy ending 'cause the story takes a while to be told, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Underage Drinking, set in 1995
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-03-08 06:59:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3199820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarmeLady_Orange/pseuds/MarmeLady_Orange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As both Gabriel and Charlie have moved out of town, Castiel spends the summer of ‘95 holed up in his room, alone with books, coffee, and unhealthy snacks. When Benny insists he comes to the last party of the summer, Castiel goes, not expecting much of anything to happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Iron Lung (Radiohead, 1995)

**Author's Note:**

> This one took a long time to write, for so many reasons. Mostly, I’ve been busy with other stuff and it was like I had thought about it too much and words wouldn’t come out. But they finally did… I certainly can’t say it’s the best thing I’ve ever written though, but I think it says what I wanted it to say.
> 
> I’m sorry there’s still no Destiel resolution, but this story is a journey… they both push and pull, just like the magnets that made up the serie's title.
> 
> Please bear with me… I have still about ten planned pieces to go through in this series, that is if I don’t decide to eliminate some of the "steps". But I might not… I find each step pretty "important" in their own way to bring the two of them together.
> 
> It’s just not as easy as it could have been. :)
> 
> I hope you’ll like this one installment. Thank you for reading!!
> 
> .

Castiel Shurley never thought that his freshman year would end this way. Not only was Gabriel moving away, something about an ex-girlfriend wanting him back and a sudden desire to be a baker, but Charlie too was leaving town.

He couldn’t be mad at his best friend. It’s not like she could do against it. But also because she was having a hard enough time as it was, with her mother’s health going downhill. They had learned that cancer was plaguing her lungs and it had gotten so bad that Charlie's aunt had insisted they’d come live with her in Chicago.

So Cas subdued his own frustrations, supporting Charlie in her pain. He didn’t tell her Gabe was leaving too, knowing she’d feel bad for him and she certainly didn’t need that on top of everything else.

So now he was alone… truly alone. The little he would see of his father could not make up for the isolation he was letting himself delve into. Which was kind of ironic actually; the thing he had been blaming his father for doing was now his daily routine. But instead of booze, he was drowning himself in coffee, going as far as bringing the percolator up to his room. It wasn’t like there was anybody else to use it anyway.

He was spending his time holed up in his room, drinking coffee and snacking on junk, reading everything and anything he could put his hands on. His only outings were to and from the library or the Gas & Sip down the road. And when Gabe would call to know how he was doing, Cas would lie and tell his cousin about all the social things he wasn’t really doing.

The only person he could have considered telling the truth to was Charlie. But again, he didn’t want to burden her with his non-existent problems when her mother and she were going through such a hard time. So as a good friend – or so he thought –, he mostly listened and lied to her too about his summer activities.

August was already coming to an end when Castiel got an unexpected phone call. Benny, who he had been reaquainted with when they got to high school, was inviting him to come over for the only party he’d be able to throw that summer.

Used to spend his time alone and in a remotely tranquil atmosphere, Cas felt the need to decline the invitation. But that was underestimating Benny who became relentless, finding counter arguments to every excuse Castiel could think of. In the end, it was an heartfelt “I miss you, brother” that did him in. Because he too had missed Benny and their little group of friends.

On the day of the party, Castiel came to regret having neglected to get his license. Benny’s place was a bit too far to walk and he’d have to take the bus, which was close to social suicide for a sixteen year old guy in Sioux Falls. But then again, he didn’t really have a social life to speak of.

When Castiel finally got there, he was glad to see that it was late enough for the house to be pretty full and noisy. Giving himself a mental pat on the back, he walked through the open door without garnering much attention. Probably because he didn’t know a single person. Some he had seen in school but none of them he had ever talked to.

He walked through the house, looking for Benny or any of their friends. In the kitchen-slash-dining room, he found a slightly inebriated Inias conversing with some guy that looked a whole lot like Benny.

“Hey, Cas,” Inias hollered when he saw his friend. 

Almost immediately, the Benny look alike thrusted a beer cup in his hand. “Here you go, dude! Drink up, you got some catchin’ up to do,” he said with a grin.

“Benny?” a confused Castiel asked between gulps. 

The guy erupted in laughter and waited for Cas to be done with his beer to give him another. “Nah… Benny’s my cousin. I’m Eli.”

“He has a band,” an overexcited Inias added with a grin, clearly under the cousin’s charm. “They’re awesome.”

Eli smiled and nodded at the praise. “We mostly play in bars. You got a fake I.D.?” the older guy asked, addressing Castiel even though his eyes never left Inias’.

Embarrassed, Castiel shook his head before gulping the last of his second beer. He didn’t have time to ask for another one that Inias had given him a new plastic cup filled with the stuff.

Castiel nodded in thanks. “I’ll go… I’ll try to find Benny, say hi…” he said, leaving the two guys to make googly eyes at each other.

Outside wasn’t any better as it’s where the music was the loudest. Clearly, it was the heart of the party and Castiel was tempted to go back inside and find a corner to curl up in.

“Hey, brother!” A strong hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed, making Castiel almost drop his cup. “Glad you came.”

“Hello, Benny,” Castiel answered with a smile. “Thanks for inviting me. Nice party,” he almost had to shout, raising his beer in thanks.

“Of course. I didn’t see you all summer, what have you been up to?”

Castiel found himself scrambling for things to say, knowing he couldn’t be feeding him the same lies as he did his cousin or Charlie. So instead he just said he’d been spending his summer out of town visiting family. He was not about to tell anyone what he’d really been doing.

“And how’s Charlie? Got any news?” Benny asked again.

“Her mom’s pretty sick so, we don’t talk much, you know?” Castiel said, glad to see the spotlight taken off of him. “I know she’s pretty nervous going to that new school, but I’m not worried for her. She’s an awesome girl, she’ll make a ton of friends.”

“You’re right about that. So, did you see Dean around?”

The fact that Castiel didn’t choke on his beer was close to miraculous, in his own opinion. Of course Dean would be at the party, he was pretty close with Benny after all. Not trusting his own voice, Castiel just shook his head.

“Huh… I’ll keep looking for him then. Haven’t seen him for hours. Anyway, have fun, Cas. I’ll see you later.”

Castiel looked on as his friend disappeared into the house, trying to decide if he shouldn’t just go back home. But before he could make up his mind, he felt a hand land harshly on his back.

“Hey, Cas _teel_! Long time no see.”

“It’s Cas _tiel_ ,” he spat as he turned his head to see a very intoxicated Gordon. “May I help you?”

“Nah, man! Just wanna say hi, you know, like old times.”

“We never really spoke, Gordon. I don’t know– ”

“Where’s your boyfriend?” Gordon cut him off with malice in his eyes.

“I don’t have a boyfriend, so I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

Gordon slapped him behind the head with an annoyed huff. “Don’t be cute, Shurley. You know who I’m talking about. Where’s Winchester?”

Before Castiel could retaliate, either with a slap or a spiteful comment, he heard a booming voice behind him. “Lookin’ for me?”

The hand Gordon still had on Castiel was shoved off.

“Wha’ the hell you doin’ here?” Dean said again, his slurring a good indication of his drunken state. “Sure Benny didn’t invite you.”

“I’m here with my girl, what’s it to you?”

Dean had moved Cas out of the way and he was now facing Gordon, both of them spitting – literally – words into each other’s face. Luckily, they were never able to start throwing punches as Benny and Eli were quick to intervene.

“Hey, Gordon, watcha doin’ here?” Benny said as he grabbed Dean so he'd move back. His voice was firm but still amicable enough.

“My girl brought me here. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Actually, this is my home, I can do whatever I want. And now I’m asking you to leave.”

“Go to hell,” Gordon hissed, puffing up his chest.

Since Benny was handling Dean so he’d stay put, it was Eli that got into Gordon’s face. Now that both cousins were close to one another, Castiel could see the not-so-subtle differences between the two. Even if Benny was a big guy, his older cousin was taller and broader. It wasn’t much work for him to grab Gordon and escort him into the house and throw him out the front door.

“What a dick,” mumbled Dean. “Imma gonna punch him in the face,” he said again under his breath before going to the nearest keg and treating himself with a beer.

“Are you okay?” Benny asked Castiel.

“I’m good, thanks,” he said, not sure what Benny was referring to exactly. Did he wonder about Cas seeing Dean again or was he making sure Gordon hadn’t been too much of an ass? He certainly wasn’t about to ask him to specify.

Benny nodded and smiled, leaving him once again to go back inside the house. And once more, Cas was left alone with his thoughts, looking around to see if there was anyone he could go talk to. With the blaring music, it would be a bit difficult but he figured he’d have to at least try and started to stroll around the backyard.

He wasn’t surprised that most people would be kind enough to give him a smile or a polite greeting. But none seemed eager for him to join their little groups as they would go back to whatever they were doing the second they had acknowledged him.

As he was making a beeline to the keg Dean had been to earlier, Castiel felt strong arms circle his waist and crush him. Thinking Gordon had come back to finish the job, he tried to wiggle out of the embrace, without much success.

“Calm down, Cas, is’ just me,” Dean breathed in his neck. Except that only made Castiel tense even more.

“Get off me,” he spat.

Instead of letting the other teen go, Dean squeezed harder and started to sway their bodies to the music. “I love this song. Dance with me,” he said again, his lips on the shell of Castiel’s ear.

Castiel shivered. “No,” he replied. Still, he didn’t try to leave the embrace.

“Yes,” Dean replied back, moving his hips in time with Melissa Etheridge’s _Like The Way I Do_.

Before he could even think about it, Castiel’s hand were crushing Dean’s hips as he pulled him closer. It was enough of a cue for Dean to let go enough to turn Cas around so they’d be facing each other. If at first Castiel’s eyes had been wide with apprehension, seeing his old friend so close again transformed the feeling into pure lust.

Somehow, they had been able to dance – or grind – while moving towards a darker corner of the backyard, next to the tool shed. Other horny teens had found the place too but they certainly didn’t care they weren’t alone. Legs entangled, their dance moves looked more like dry humping than anything else. And of course, that’s what was happening as their rhythm soon had nothing to do with the music playing.

They didn’t kiss, too busy working on finding their release, grinding their clothed dicks together and panting in each other’s necks. Still, the fact that they didn’t kiss didn’t mean that their mouths were inactive. Dean’s was very busy sucking a bruise on Castiel’s neck while Castiel relished in his friends shivers as he nibbled on his ear lobe.

It didn’t take long for the both of them to come in their pants, holding onto one another to try and stay upright. With Dean’s shivering weight pressing him on the shed’s metal wall, Castiel was having trouble catching his breath, so he tried to push him away.

“Can’t breathe,” he explained to a confused Dean, who nodded and took a step back, keeping his eyes on the ground.

When Dean lifted a hand towards the other teen, Castiel pushed himself off the supporting wall. “I– I’ll go wash-up,” he said, pointing to his own crotch. Dean nodded again, licking his lips with his eyes stuck on the damp spot.

“You’ll be back?” Dean asked, his voice almost plaintive.

“Yeah… I will,” Cas said, even though he wasn’t so sure he would. Dean was the drunkest he had ever seen him and, in his opinion, there was a big chance he didn’t even know what he was doing.

As he made his way into the house to find the bathroom, Castiel’s mind was racing, going back and forth between joining Dean again or fleeing the party. He had given up on his old friend a while ago, both as a romantic interest and as a friend. But, at sixteen, to say that his hormones were raging was an understatement. And getting off with someone instead of by himself was certainly tempting enough to forego any grudge he could still have against the prettiest boy in school.

After cleaning himself up, which of course only made the damp spot bigger, Castiel walked back outside to find Dean. He went to the dark make out corner, or so it had become, only to find Dean wasn’t there anymore. He walked around the yard, trying to find his friend, without success. When he didn’t find him in the house either, he went to a group of people he somewhat knew and asked them if they had seen Dean.

“Not for a while, no,” answered a blond girl Castiel didn’t remember the name of. “He’s probably outside.”

Even though he had just come from outside, Castiel went to the backyard again, walking up to Benny who was cozying it up with Andrea. “Benny, did you see Dean?”

“Last time I saw him, he was with you. Haven’t seen him since you guys disappeared behind the shed,” Benny answered with a devious grin. It disappeared quickly when he saw Castiel wasn’t so amused himself. “Sorry, brother. I don’t know where he is. Maybe inside?”

“I just came from there. I can’t find him.”

“Maybe he left?” offered an unhelpful Andrea. “Not saying he did… I don’t know man, I didn’t see him either,” she tried to explain before resuming her kissing of Benny’s neck. It didn’t take long for the lovebirds to shift their attentions to one another instead of Castiel.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said for himself as he decided it was time for him to go back home. He waved his goodbyes as he made his way back into the house to leave, glad it was early enough to still be able to take the bus home.

Walking away from the rowdy house, he never heard the groans and heaves coming from the side of the house. Just like he never saw Dean emptying his stomach on the grass and pass out a little too close to the puddle.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing’s mine, nor is it beta'd… I tend to do that, sorry.
> 
> I’ll really try not to wait so long to write the next one! I might even start today, who knows?


End file.
